Nairobi prepares to be the first African city to host the World Athletics Championships

Nairobi is preparing to make history as the first African city to host the World Athletics Championships, bringing the sport's flagship global event to the continent whose runners have shaped it for decades.

Kenya won the right to stage the 2029 championships at the World Athletics Council meeting in Budapest on 15 September, beating bids from London, Rome and Munich after a three-year campaign.

"A deeply special moment"

The World Athletics Championships began in Helsinki in 1983 and have been held across the world since, but never in Africa. Kenya is the second most successful nation in the championships' history.

Kipchoge Keino, the two-time Olympic champion whose 1,500m victory at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics helped establish Kenya as a distance-running powerhouse, told Al Jazeera: "When we started running, we were young Kenyans with a dream to represent our country and show the world that African athletes could compete at the highest level. Seeing Kenya prepare to host the World Athletics Championships in 2029 is a deeply special moment."

"It is a testament to how far our country has come from sending athletes abroad to compete, to welcoming the world to our own home," he said.

A winning bid

Nairobi's bid highlighted the renovation of the Kasarani stadium ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, and Kenya's experience of hosting the 2017 World Under-18 Championships and the 2021 World Under-20 Championships. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe described Nairobi's proposal as "compelling and emotional".

Dan Wanyama, who chairs the Kenyan parliament's committee on sports and culture, said the country had the experience and infrastructure, adding: "It is a thing of pride for us to defeat major global cities London, Munich and Rome."

The challenges ahead

There are questions to answer. Kenya has faced scrutiny over doping, with 318 Kenyan athletes sanctioned since the Athletics Integrity Unit was set up in 2017. Kenya's anti-doping agency was found non-compliant in 2025, but was removed from the compliance watchlist this year after corrective measures.

Nairobi will also need training facilities, transport, accommodation, security and broadcasting systems for thousands of athletes, officials, journalists and fans, and the city's traffic congestion will come under the spotlight.

A Birmingham connection

Birmingham knows what it takes to host world-class athletics, having staged the 2022 Commonwealth Games at the Alexander Stadium and this summer's European Athletics Championships.

For a country whose athletes have represented Africa on the world stage for generations, 2029 will be a historic chance to welcome the world home.